How to set a preferred image on a page for sharing on social media
We can optimise content on pages for sharing on social media platforms so that when the page is linked to, the preferred image is available to select as one of the image thumbnails on the social media platform.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as scheduling tools such as Buffer, Sprout Social and Hootsuite look for the og:image meta tag to determine what thumbnails to use.
This can help prevent unwanted images, which may not represent the page being used as the associated image when shared on social media - an example of this would be where Facebook would select the image used on an Open Day promo block, if no other images are present on the page.
Setting the preferred image (og:image)
We can set the og:image by adding an image to the Thumbnail image rectangle or Thumbnail image square fields on a page’s Section config.
These thumbnail images are also used to automatically pull through when a section is added as a promo block and on listing pages.
Instructions
Go to the Section config on a page
Set the thumbnail image rectangle or square (or both) with an image to represent the page and save section
Once the Section config updates have been approved, the og:image will available to select on social media
Also check that an appropriate abstract has been completed on the Section config, which can also pull through on social media
Image guidelines
Typical recommended image thumbnail rectangle and square sizes should be used:
Thumbnail image rectangle should be over 2000x1500px
Thumbnail image squares should be 2000 x 2000px
In ThirdLight use 'Thumbnail image rectangle' or ‘Thumbnail image square' and crop images using the 'Constrain proportions' checkbox.
Take into account that social media platforms use different aspect ratios and that images may be cropped to fit, so ensure your subject matter/point of focus of the image is fairly central. Page link previews should be checked on the social media platforms before being shared publicly.